Sofa armrest
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional sofa armrests are heavy, costly, and difficult to manufacture, with fabric protrusion issues leading to hygiene problems due to debris accumulation and cleaning challenges.
Innovation Solution
A sofa armrest made by blow molding with a recessed fabric mounting groove and clamping-connection grooves for seamless fabric attachment and connector integration, along with a storage cavity for electric wires, enhancing hygiene and structural integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If traditional solid wooden or iron frame armrests are used, then sufficient supporting force is provided, but the armrests are heavy and consume a lot of materials
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a hollow plastic armrest shell made by blow molding to replace traditional solid wooden or iron frame structures. The hollow shell maintains sufficient mechanical strength while dramatically reducing weight and material consumption, directly resolving the contradiction between strength and weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The armrest combines a hollow plastic shell with internal supporting structures and fabric upholstery to create a composite structure that achieves both light weight and adequate strength, overcoming the limitations of single-material solid constructions.
2Strength
If traditional solid wooden or iron frame armrests are used, then structural strength is ensured, but manufacturing time and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The blow molding process creates the armrest shell in a single rapid operation, eliminating the multi-step manufacturing processes required for solid wooden or iron frame construction, thereby significantly increasing productivity while maintaining structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent integrates multiple functions into the hollow armrest shell structure, including the main body, fabric mounting groove, and clamping-connection grooves, reducing the number of separate manufacturing steps and assembly operations required.
3Ease of manufacture
If flat inner side surfaces are used for armrest mounting, then manufacturing is simple, but fabric protrudes and causes hygiene problems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent modifies specific local areas of the armrest inner surface by creating recessed grooves (fabric mounting groove and clamping-connection grooves) while maintaining the overall simplicity of the blow molding process. This localized modification prevents fabric protrusion and debris accumulation without significantly complicating manufacturing.
4Ease of manufacture
If fabric is mounted on flat armrest surfaces, then installation is simple, but gaps form between fabric and underframe allowing debris to leak
Solution Approach 1:
The recessed fabric mounting groove and clamping-connection grooves create localized containment structures that prevent fabric from protruding and eliminate gaps between the fabric and underframe, stopping debris leakage while keeping the overall installation process simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The fabric mounting groove is nested within the armrest shell structure, creating a recessed space that contains the fabric and prevents it from extending outward where it could create gaps and allow debris to leak.
Data Source
AI summary
The disclosure relates to a sofa armrest. The sofa armrest includes a main body made by blow molding, the upper end of the inner side surface of the main body is recessed inward to form a fabric mounting groove for mounting armrest fabric, and the lower end of the inner side surface of the main body is provided with clamping-connection grooves for being connected with connectors of a sofa underframe. The sofa armrest is made by a blow molding process, and compared with traditional solid sofa armrests, the sofa armrest has the advantages of low weight, high production speed and less manufacturing materials; when the armrest fabric is squeezed and deformed, debris accumulates on the lower wall of the fabric mounting groove or on a seat cover fabric, cleaning of dust and debris is facilitated, and the overall hygiene of a sofa is maintained.